1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to generally to gun-type oil burners, and more particularly to an energy-efficient gun-type oil burner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional gun-type oil burners, including those manufactured by the assignee of the present application, incorporate a split-phase induction motor driving a squirrel cage blower having a scroll casing communicating directly with the blast tube. In such conventional oil burners, a gear pump driven by the motor supplies oil under pressure to the nozzle of the burner, and an ignition transformer is mounted on a part of the blower casing thus detracting from a true scroll configuration. Still further, in such conventional gun-type oil burners, the ignition transformer is coupled to the ignition electrodes at all times thereby providing ignition sparking during normal operation of the burner.
In conventional oil burners, the provision of a motor-driven oil pump necessitates use of a split-phase motor thus involving greater initial cost and greater energy consumption than would be involved by the use of a shaded pole motor to drive the blower alone. Gun-type gas burners, which do not require a fuel pump, have employed shaded pole motors for driving the blower. I am aware that gun-type oil burners have recently been introduced abroad employing an electrically-actuated fuel pump thus permitting use of a shaded pole motor to drive the blower.
The provision of a plenum chamber located between the blower and the blast tube provides even air flow to the blast tube thus reducing burner noise, and the use of a blower having a near-perfect scroll casing improves the air delivery efficiency thus reducing the energy consumption of the motor. Certain prior gun-type gas burners have employed a near-perfect blower casing scroll and plenum chamber. It is also known to de-energize the ignition transformer during normal burner operation thereby reducing energy consumption.
The present-day energy shortage makes desirable the provisin of an energy-efficient gun-type oil burner; however, to the best of my knowledge, the above-referred to energy-conserving features variously employed in prior gun-type oil and gas burners have not been combined to provide a gun-type oil burner which is highly conservative of energy, both electrical and fossil. It is further desirable to provide a gun-type oil burner capable of operation with minimum fuel flow, as for example for providing minimal winter heating in a summer home, or for use in small mobile homes and the like.